


Knowing

by unknowableroom_archivist



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Gen, Marauders' Era
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2007-05-06
Updated: 2007-05-06
Packaged: 2019-01-19 02:25:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,725
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12401184
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/unknowableroom_archivist/pseuds/unknowableroom_archivist
Summary: There are some things you think about. There are some things you dream about. There are some things you wish for. And there are some things you just know





	Knowing

**Author's Note:**

> Note from ChristyCorr, the archivist: this story was originally archived at [Unknowable Room](http://fanlore.org/wiki/Unknowable_Room), a Harry Potter archive active from 2005-2016. To preserve the archive, I began manually importing its works to the AO3 as an Open Doors-approved project after May 2017. I e-mailed all creators about the move and posted announcements, but may not have reached everyone. If you are (or know) this creator, please contact me using the e-mail address on [Unknowable Room collection profile](http://www.archiveofourown.org/collections/unknowableroom).

  
Author's notes: 1  


* * *

**Knowing**

*

Prologue

Meeting: Remus and Sirius

*

Remus stands on platform nine-and-three-quarters and gazes in wonder at the commotion around him. He watches as mothers fuss over their children and wishes that his mother could be here to fuss over him. He watches as fathers hug their sons and tries to remember the last time his father hugged him. He watches as children play and teenagers chat with their friends and longs to have that relationship with someone. He watches as wizards and witches perform the simplest of spells and thinks about how knew this all is, and he knows that he will never be able to do anything like that with such elegance and ease. 

One family group catches his eye. One boy in particular. As far as Remus can tell, there’s a group of about twenty, some belonging to the same family. There’s something odd about the group, something slightly intimidating. The way they seem superior. The way they command attention from everyone who walks past. The way that everyone else on the platform seems to want to stay clear from them. But it seems that this one boy, he wants to stay clear as well. As everyone else stands and chats casually, he sits on a baggage trolley, heads in his hands, dark hair flopping into his eyes. 

Remus looks over his shoulder and shrugs at no one in particular. He grabs his suitcase and walks over to the boy as casually as he can. 

It is so unlike him, Remus remarks, to do something so…spontaneous. But there is something different about this boy. It embarrasses him slightly that this is one of the most impulsive things he has ever done – walking up to a complete stranger, with no plan of what to do or say when he gets there – and possibly one of the most impulsive things he ever will do. 

He just feels lucky that the family is so self-absorbed that they don’t notice him come over. The boy does though. Remus continues to walk to him as the boy shakes his hair out of his eyes and looks up.

His features are strong yet subtle, from his nose to his cheekbones. His eyes are grey and almost almond-shaped. His dark hair falls casually over his ears and down the back of his neck. He is incredibly good-looking. Remus doesn’t care about these things but he notices them.

As Remus carries on walking, he suddenly realises he has no idea what he’s doing or why he’s doing it. He’s walking up to a entirely unfamiliar person, a _wizard_ , and now, because he’s so close to reaching them, there’s no way he can stop and turn back and make it seem like he was going to the toilet and he can’t walk past them either because there’s a wall and _oh God_ …

The boy is looking up at him now, actually looking _at_ him. A very slight smile creeps onto the corner of his lips. 

_What am I doing?_

Remus shoves out an awkward hand. “Er, hi. I’m Remus. Lupin.”

*

“Er, hi. I’m Remus. Lupin”

Sirius looks up at this strange boy in utter wonder. He doesn’t recognise the boy, but he recognises the name: Lupin. He’s heard his parents talking about this “blood traitor” over dinner some time. Apparently he married a Muggle, or some such other atrocity. Sirius likes him already. 

He smiles broadly, takes Remus’ hand in his own and shakes it warmly.

“I’m Sirius,” he pauses awkwardly, and then, knowing he has to say it, adds, “Black.”

Remus smiles and Sirius realises that he obviously doesn’t know about the Black family. He breathes a deep sigh of relief and attempts to stand up, causing the trolley to slip under him. 

“Ow. My arse,” he says, rubbing his backside. 

Remus laughs and again extends a hand to him. Sirius takes it and hauls himself up. He looks around to see his family staring at him. He barges through the small crowd of his ‘loved ones’. 

“I’m going to get on the train now,” he announces to no one in particular.

His mother approaches him and hugs him. He’s always hated these hugs. They’re not like the ones he’s seen other mothers give their children. These hugs are cold and – in spite of himself he can’t help but remember the cliché – almost clinical.

“Bye. See you in a few months, mother.”

Next, his father. A firm handshake should suffice here. 

His father fixes him with one of those intense stares as he shakes Sirius’ hand. “Good luck son. Write to us. See you.”

Sirius dashes to where Remus is still standing and drags his suitcase from under a pile. He looks over his shoulder and waves vaguely, again, at no one in particular. 

As he and Remus board the train, the family don’t even turn to look at him.

The two boys walk through the corridors of the train and Sirius can sense the questions forming in Remus’ mind and lips, but thankfully he says nothing.

“Shall we go in here?” Remus says, stopping outside an empty compartment. “I mean, if you want to,” he adds quickly, “But you probably have other people to see and stuff. It doesn’t matter. Well, er, I’m going in here, so, er. Um. See you round. Bye.”

Remus darts inside the compartment and Sirius grins. He watches as Remus heaves his suitcase onto the rack above him and sits down and begins tapping his fingers on his knee. He doesn’t dare look at Sirius. Sirius follows him in sits opposite him, taking Remus in fully.

His face is slightly round, but slim at the bottom and, now that Sirius has joined him, is grinning broadly. His light brown, almost curly hair falls down over his forehead boyishly. The look in his coffee-brown eyes is eager and excited, somehow deep.

Remus digs in his pocket and pulls out a miraculously un-melted bar of chocolate. He opens the end and offers it to Sirius. 

“Chocolate? I know it’s silly but I always have some with me. Especially when I go away. And this is my first time at a wizard school, so I thought I really would need some. D’you want some?” he asks enthusiastically.

Sirius examines the label. He sees the words “extra rich, extra dark” and knows he needn’t look further. He breaks off a piece and shoves it in his mouth, returning the packet to Remus.

“Thanks,” he says, though it comes out as more of a grunt and a slight splattering of chocolate. 

They both finish their chocolate in silence. Though this could be potentially very awkward – being in a confined space with an unknown boy, eating chocolate, saying nothing – it doesn’t seem to be. 

“So where are you parents then?” asks Sirius, swallowing the last bits of chocolate.

“Well, my mum’s a…erm…she’s not a, er…wizard.”

“You mean she’s a muggle?” Sirius offers.

“Yes. That’s right. A muggle. And er, my dad. Well he was he here, but he said that I should,” Remus imitates his fathers deep, somewhat stuffy voice, “‘start the Hogwarts experience on your own. It’ll teach you the Hogwarts way. “Draco Dormiens Numquam Titillandus.” Go and be a man.’ Something like that.”

Sirius’ bark-like laugh fills the small compartment. Remus smiles broadly. It’s a rare event that someone laughs at something he’s said, rather than at _him_. 

“What about you?” Remus asks somewhat tentatively, “I mean, your family?”

“Oh yeah. They’re all here,” Sirius replies, somewhat begrudgingly. He presses his face against the window and peers out onto the platform. Remus does the same.

“See that woman there. With the dark hair. Laughing. That’s my mum. She’s not that nice, but she always smells good. Him over there with the square shoulders. That’s my dad. He’s not that nice either, but I guess he’s clever. Erm...that boy – yeah, the one who looks like me only shorter and less attractive – that’s my brother Regulus. But I call him arse-face. I hate him. He’s a couple of years younger than me, so he’s not starting Hogwarts yet. Erm. Oh yeah. Her over there with the stupid swishy blonde hair. That’s Narcissa. But she gets everyone to call her _Cissa_ but I don’t, ‘cause I hate her. And can you see that girl over there? Sucking that guy’s face off. That’s Bellatrix. I _hate_ her. Even more than Narcissa. And the boy who she’s eating – yeah him – that’s _Rodolphus_. He’s really…er…really…I don’t like him.”

Remus just sits, fascinated, watching and listening. Sirius tells him about the various members of his family and friends, following each description with some variation of “I don’t like her” or “I hate him”. 

 After a while, Sirius flops back into his seat, and Remus does the same. The train begins to move. 

Both boys jump slightly as the door of their compartment is suddenly thrown open and a tall boy with dark messy hair and glasses falls in.

“Er. I’m James. I’m new. There aren’t any spare compartments. Mind if I share? I’ve only got one suitcase and it won’t take up much room and I can sit in the corner if you want to talk or something but do you mind if I share ‘cause there aren’t any spare – I already said that. Er. Yeah.”

There is a brief silence, a few nods and looks, a heaving of a suitcase. Sirius senses the inevitable Awkward Silenced.

“I’m Sirius Black,” he says, apparently confident.

“I’m Remus Lupin,” he says, obviously eager.

“I’m James Potter,” he says, clearly excited. “This is gonna be a good year. I can tell.”

*

_AN – wow, this is the second time I have posted this evening. Go me! Ok. I hoped you liked this. It’s going to be a series of vignettes, all Sirius Remus related. The chapters will come in pairs (like this one only separated), one being Sirius related, one being Remus related. There will be different formats to keep it interesting (possibly just conversations or letters). The chapters will be short, but hopefully I’ll update regularly._

_Thank you for reading this. It would be great if you could review. This is only my second time writing fan-fiction (as you can probably tell) so be nice!_

_Love_

_Jen_

_xxx_


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